Method of tea extraction

ABSTRACT

A method of making tea with a tea maker ( 54 ) provided with a control system ( 116 ) that enables the tea to be intermittently drained of water to allow contact of the tea ( 52,26 ) with atmospheric oxygen several times during each brew cycle to enhance flavor and to eliminate the problems associated with seeping of the tea.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of and claims the benefit under 35USC120of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/438,094, filed Nov. 10, 1999, nowU.S. Pat. No. 6,571,685 of the present inventor and entitled“Oxygenating Tea Maker and Method” and is a continuation-in-part of andclaims the benefit under 35USC120 of U.S. patent Ser. No. 09/697,849filed Oct. 27, 2000,now U.S. Pat. No. 6,576,282 which is a division ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/131,992 filed Aug. 11,1998, nowpatent number U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,717.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention generally relates to tea making and a method ofextracting liquid tea from tea leaves using an automated tea maker.

2. Discussion of the Prior Art

There are two types of commercial tea makers: tea leaf makers that usetea leaves that are placed atop an open filter paper at the bottom of abrew basket and ground tea makers that use ground tea contained inpreselected closed filter envelopes that arc placed in the bottom of thebrew basket. In the case of the tea leaves, the tea leaves come inpreselected amounts that are sealed in plastic packages to keep the tealeaves fresh until use. When it is time to use the tea leaves, a freshcup-shaped filter paper is placed into a brew basket, the plasticpackage is opened and the tea leaves are dumped onto the bottom of thefilter at the bottom of the brew basket. In the case of the ground teamakers, there is no need for a separate filter for the brew basketbecause the ground tea is already contained within an envelope made offilter paper. When it is time to use the ground tea, the envelope withthe ground tea is simply placed into the bottom of the brew basket byitself

In both types of tea makers, after the dry tea ingredient has beenlocated in the bottom of the brew basket, hot water is added into theopen top of the brew basket at a sufficient rate compared to the liquidoutput rate of tea extract draining from the drain hole at the bottom ofthe brew basket to completely submerge the tea and to maintain the teaingredient submerged for several minutes. As seen if FIG. 1, the brewbasket 18 of a PRIOR ART tea maker has an open top 20, a small drainopening 22 and has an insert 24 within which is fitted a correspondinglyshaped filter bag, or ground tea envelope, 26 made of filter paper andcontaining two ounces of ground tea. The known tea makers quickly addhot brew water 28 into the open top 20 to a level 30 that is well abovethe level of the tea in the filter bag 26. After all of the tea issubmerged the known tea makers continue to add hot brew water as the teaextract slowly drains from the drain hole 22 to keep the tea submergedfor several minutes.

A snug fit between the filter envelope 26 and the insert 24 within whichit is nestled is designed to prevent the tea envelope from rising to thesurface of the water 28. The diameter of the drain hole 22 is onlyapproximately 0.115 inch to provide a relatively slow drain to enablethe hot brew water to quickly accumulate within the brew basket and riseto the maximum level 30. After the hot brew water has reached the toplevel 30, the tea remains submerged while the extract slowly drains fromthe drain hole 22 over a period of several minutes.

Because the brew basket must contain at one time a substantial portionof the total hot brew water that is used, approximately seventy toeighty ounces per 1-½ gallon of tea to be made, the brew basket musthave a relatively large capacity and a relatively high profile. It isbelieved that all known commercial makers operate on the basis ofsteeping the tea in order to obtain the liquid tea extract.

After the teas is extracted, the liquid tea extract is passed into adispensing or serving urn in which it is diluted with an amount ofmixing water equal to make 1-½ gallons, 3 gallons and 4-½ gallons oftea. Generally, two ounces of tea are used for each 1-½ gallons of teato be made. Cold mixing water is used to dilute the tea extract to makeice tea and hot mixing water is added to the extract to make hot tea.

A problem with the ground tea makers is that when the hot water is firstadded to the brew basket the air inside of the envelope heats andexpands. This causes the envelope to expand and consequently to float ontop of the hot water. When floating on top of the water the tea insidethe envelope does not properly steep and the steeping water can exit thebrew basket without passing through the tea envelope. Accordingly,filter baskets have been provided with inserts 24 that are designed tohold the envelope 26 down within the brew basket in a position directlyabove the drain hole 22. In this position at the bottom of the brewbasket the envelope 26 and the tea contained within is kept submergedduring steeping. Most but not all the water passes through the envelopeto exit from the drain hole.

Disadvantageously, different sized (two ounces and four ounces) anddifferent shaped (square, rectangular and round) commercial teaenvelopes and the use of multiple envelopes for a single brew requiresthe use of different sized and different shaped inserts or differentbrew baskets with integrated inserts to hold the different envelopes inproper steeping position within the brew basket.

In the case of the tea leaves in an open filter, the tea leaves at firstfloat on the surface of the hot water but then quickly saturate and sinkinto the water and steep and do not suffer from this problem. However,because of the need to accumulate hot water in the brew basket forseveral minutes, it is necessary to keep the drain hole 22 relativelysmall. Consequently, it is not uncommon for the tea leaves after wettedto collapse the filter paper to create a blockage over the drain hole 22that interferes with proper draining.

The tea envelopes of ground tea are generally preferred over loose tealeaves because of the ease of use of the ground tea envelopes comparedto the packages of loose tea leaves. If greater quantities of tea arcdesired, then more two ounce envelopes 26 are added into the brew basket18. The need for a separate filter paper required by the loose tea bagsis eliminated, and thus the associated separate steps of inserting andremoving the separate filter are eliminated. The closed filter envelopes26 eliminate spillage, and the separate steps of opening the plasticpackage, dumping of the tea into the open filter and the disposal of theempty plastic package are also eliminated.

It has been determined that increased amounts of oxygen in the hot brewwater during steeping improves the quality of the tea extract withrespect to potency and flavor of the final tea product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the tea making method of the present invention, theneed for using different sized inserts or brew baskets to brew tea fromdifferent sized or shaped tea envelopes is eliminated and increased freeoxygen is put into contact with the tea during the extraction process byeliminating the process of steeping.

This objective is achieved in part by providing a method of brewing teain an automatic tea maker having a supply of hot brew water, acontrolled valve for passing the hot brew water into a brew basket, asupply of mixing water, and a dispensing urn for receipt of tea extractand receipt of mixing water from the mixing water supply, coposed of thesteps of establishing with a timer of a controller a brew cycle, saidbrew cycle being composed of a plural succession of extraction cycles,each extraction cycle alternating between an intermittent add period ofpreselected duration and an intermittent pause period of preselectedduration, placing dry tea ingredient at the bottom of the brew basket,opening the controlled valve during each add period to add hot waterfrom the hot brew water supply to the tea at the bottom of the brewbasket, and closing the controlled valve during each of the intermittentpause periods to allow the hot brew later added during the add period todrain sufficiently through the tea and out of the drain hole as teaextract to expose to atmospheric air the tea within the brew basketbefore the commencement of the next add period, and draining from thebrew basket through a drain hole of sufficient size substantially all ofthe tea extract during each pause period.

Preferably, each of the extraction cycles has a period duration on theorder of thirty seconds, and each of the add periods is on the order ofapproximately seven to ten seconds in duration. The method also mayinclude the steps of preselecting the duration of the add periods for agiven brew cycle to be one of a period on the order of an approximatelyseven seconds and a period on the order of approximately ten seconds.

In accordance with one aspect of the method of the invention, an amountof hot water on the order of approximately 6.33-7.6 ounces of hot brewwater is added to the brew basket during an add period on the order of7-10 seconds during each intermittent add period, and the drain hole hasa minimum diameter on the order of approximately 0.285 inch. Generally,the duration of the brew cycle is on the order of approximately 5-6minutes, the extraction cycle is approximately thirty seconds, the addperiod is approximately seven to ten seconds and the amount of hot brewwater added to the brew basket during each add period is approximately6.33-7.6 ounces.

The objective is also achieved by a method of making tea in an automatictea maker having a supply of hot brew water, a controlled valve forpassing the hot brew water into a brew basket, a supply of mixing water,and a dispensing urn for receipt of tea extract and receipt of mixingwater from the mixing water supply, by performing the steps of placing apreselected amount of tea within the brew basket, during a brew cycleautomatically passing a preselected quantity of hot brew water into thebrew basket and into contact with the tea at the bottom of the brewbasket at a preselected brew water passing rate, and draining teaextract from the brew basket at a preselected drain rate relative to thepreselected brew water passing rate to prevent the tea from continuouslysteeping in its entirety in the hot water for the entire brew cycle andto thereby expose the tea to atmospheric air including oxygen during asignificant portion of the brew cycle.

Preferably, the step of automatically passing includes the step ofintermittently changing the relationship between the passing rate andthe drain rate to allow a substantial portion of all of the tea extractto be drained from the brew basket repetitively throughout the brewcycle. The actual rate of passing during intermittent periods, whenthere is no pausing in the actual passing, is preferably greater thanthe drain rate, preferably approximately 3-4 times the drain rate.

In the preferred embodiment, the average passing rate during the brewcycle is composed of a plurality of successive periods of differentactual rates that vary substantially above and below the average rateand the drain rate is continuous, and included is the step ofintermittently changing the relationship between the passing rate andthe drain rate to allow a substantial contact of the tea with theatmospheric oxygen during the brew cycle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing advantageous features of the tea maker and tea makingmethod of the present invention will be described in detail and otheradvantageous features will be made apparent from the detaileddescription that is given with reference to the several figures of thedrawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional side view of a PRIOR ART brewbasket with a tea envelope being held at the bottom and over the drainhole and completely submerged by means of an insert all as describedabove;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the brew basket of the tea maker ofthe present invention with portions broken away to illustrate the heightof the hot brew water relative to the filter bag or loose tea leaves onthe bottom of the brew basket;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the brew basket of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4A is a front elevation view of the preferred embodiment of the teamaker of the present invention without the tea dispensing urn in placefor receipt of extract and mixing water,

FIG. 4B is a front elevation view that is the same as that of FIG. 4Abut with the tea dispensing urn in place beneath the brew basket forreceipt of tea extract and in position to receive mixing water;

FIG. 4C is a back elevation view of the tea maker of FIGS. 4A and 4B;

FIG. 4D is a plan view of the tea maker of FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4B;

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional side view of the tea maker of FIGS.4A-4D;

FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the controller; and

FIGS. 7A and 7B form a single composite logic flow chart for operationof operation of the tea maker with the controller of FIG. 6;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 2, the brew basket 34 of the present invention isseen to include an outer, generally cup-shaped body 35 with a solidsidewall 36 surrounding an open top 38 and having a relatively flatbottom 40 that slightly slopes downwardly to a relatively large drainhole 42. A handle 44 is attached to the sidewall 36, and a wire filterbasket 45 is removably mounted within the sidewall 36 with a generallyflat bottom 46 that is elevated above the bottom 40 of the outer body35. As seen, unlike the prior art brew basket 18 of FIG. 1 that is usedfor steeping the tea, the wire basket 45 does not have a special insertto hold the tea envelope 26. Instead, the envelope simply rests upon therelatively flat bottom 40 of the wire basket and does not float becausethe water level 48 is kept relatively low so as to prevent floatationand to enable oxygenation of the tea within the envelope 26. Inaddition, because there is not seeping there is no need for the brewbasket 34 of FIG. 2 to have a large volume capacity. The brew basket 34only needs capacity to hold approximately several ounces of brew waterat a time and the tea envelope or envelopes. Accordingly, the brewbasket 34 is advantageously provided with a relatively low profile.Moreover, because there is no seeping required, the drain hole 42 has arelatively large diameter of approximately 0.285 inch that is almost twoand one half times larger than the drain hole 22 of the prior art basketto eliminate clogging by tea leaves or collapsing filter paper.

As shown in FIG. 3, because there is no insert in the wire basket 45 forholding down the tea envelope 26, the brew basket 34 can also be usedwith a separate open filter 50 containing tea leaves 52 spread over therelatively flat bottom 46 of the wire basket. Advantageously, the samebrew basket 34 is therefore suitable for use with filter bags 26 ofdifferent shapes and sizes by simply laying the filter bags on the flatbottom as well as with loose tea 52 placed on the bottom of a separatepiece of filter paper supported by the flat bottom 46. The wire filterbasket 45 has a circular configuration while the body 35 has a generallysquared or octagonal configuration to present a flat flush appearancewhen mounted to the tea maker of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 4A, the preferred embodiment of the oxygenatingtea brewer 54 of the present invention has a an elongate body with abox-like upper housing 56 to which manual control switches and statusindicator lights and are mounted as well as a dark tea faucet 58 and agreen tea faucet 60. The manual control switches include a power switch62, a start brew cycle switch 64 and a stop brew cycle switch 66. Theindicator lights includes a ready light 68, a brew light 70 and a poweron back light 72 associated with the power switch. Removably supportedbeneath the upper housing 56 is the brew basket 34 of FIGS. 2 and 3. Theupper housing 56 is supported atop a lower housing 74 that, in turn, issupported upon a suitable flat surface 76 by feet 78, preferablyrollers. Two sidewalls 80 and 82 extend from a back 84 in spacedparallel relationship to provide a docking space 86 beneath the brewbasket 34 for receipt of a dispensing urn that will be described withreference to FIG. 4B. A dilution, or mixing, water spout 88 is mountedto and extends forwardly from the back 84 for sliding receipt within theinterior of the dispensing urn when it is mounted within the dockingspace 86. An urn detection switch 90 is mounted to the back 84 to sensewhen the dispensing urn is fully inserted into the docking space 86. Inthe absence of detection of the urn, the brewer is disabled from brewingany tea.

Referring to FIG. 4B, the dispensing urn 92 is supported on the supportsurface 76 within the docking space 86 with an open inlet 94 aligneddirectly beneath the drain hole to receive the tea extract and with adilution water inlet in the back (not shown) within which is receivedthe dilution water spout 88 for receipt of the dilution water. The urnhas a serving faucet 96 and a handle 98 to facilitate moving it to aserving location after it is filled with, freshly brewed tea.

Referring to FIG. 4C, a number of other components of the tea maker 54are seen from the back of the tea maker 54. Mounted within the upperhousing 56 is a green tea tank 100 and a hot brew water tank 102. At thetop of the lower housing 74 is the mixing or dilution water tank 104that in the case of making ice tea contains cold or unheated water. Acircuit board 106 and an LLC board 108 that carry various circuitcomponents for controlling the tea maker 54 are mounted beneath thedilution tank 104. A thermostat 110 is also mounted at this location.The tanks 100 and 102 are also seen in the plan view of FIG. 4D. Inaddition, shown is a spray assembly 112 located above the brew basketlocation to spray hot brew water onto the tea at the bottom of thebasket.

Referring to FIG. 5, the spray assembly 112 is also seen as are thegreen tea tank 100 and the dilution tank 104. The water from thedilution tank 104 is passed through a dilution valve 114 to the dilutionwater spout 88 and then into the service urn.

Referring now to FIG. 6, the preferred embodiment of the control system116 preferably employs a microprocessor 118 , preferably a MOTOROLASEMICONDUCTOR model 68HC705 P6A eight bit microprocessor. This processoris preferably used in a T2682-120 controller made by NATIONAL CONTROLSCORPORATION although other controllers could be successfully employed.In any event, the microprocessor receives switch inputs from a powerswitch 62, the brew stop switch 66 and the brew start switch 64 from thefront control panel and the urn detection switch 90. It also receivesinputs from the selectors in the back panel, the pulse time selector120, the brew time selector 122 and the brew water temperature selector124 and a green tea water temperature selector 126. Other inputs includeinputs from a brew water temperature sensor 127 and a green tea watertemperature sensor 128 and a brew water level sensor. Based on thestatus of the tea maker 54, the microprocessor provides output signalsto control the brew light 70, the ready light 68 and the power light 72.

In response to the input signals the microprocessor 118 controlssolenoid controlled valves to control the flow of water throughout thesystem. A solenoid controlled fill valve 130 is controlled to add newwater to the hot brew water tank. A solenoid controlled hot brew waterdispense valve, or brew valve, 132 is controlled to intermittently addwater to the brew basket 34. The solenoid controlled mixing water, ordilution water, dispense valve, or dilution valve 114 is controlled toadd dilution water to the tea extract in the urn to make ice tea.

The microprocessor 118 generally operates in accordance with the flowchart of FIGS. 7A and 7B. After the start of the program in step 134, adetermination is made in step 136 whether the brew cycle conditions havebeen satisfied. The hot brew water tank must have the preselected amountof water needed for producing the desired amount of tea abstract and itmust be at the preselected temperature. The urn detection switch mustdetect the presence of the urn for receipt of the abstract and thedilution water. If the brew cycle conditions have not been satisfied,then corrective action is taken in step 138 until they are satisfied,such as opening the fill valve until the correct level has been reachedor heating the brew water until it has reached the preselectedtemperature. After all the preconditions have been satisfied, theprogram passes to step 140 to determine if the brew switch has beenactivated. If the brew start switch is activated, then in step 142, abrew cycle timer is started. Also, an extraction cycle timer is startedin step 144, an extraction add period timer is started in step 146.Next, in step 148, the brew water dispense valve is opened to beginadding brew water to the brew basket. The program then passes tojunction 150 and is continued in FIG. 7B.

Referring to FIG. 7B, after the brew valve is opened in step 148, instep 152 a determination is made if the add period timer has lapsed. Ifthe add period timer has lapsed then in step 154, the brew waterdispense valve is closed. A determination is then made in step 156 ifthe extraction cycle timer has lapsed. If the extraction cycle timer haslapsed, then a determination is made whether the brew cycle timer haslapsed in step 158. If the brew cycle timer has lapsed then in step 160the program returns to start and the process is repeated for the nextbrew cycle. If the brew cycle has not lapsed but the extraction cycletimer has lapsed, then in step 162 the program returns to step 144, andanother extraction cycle is commenced.

The brewer in this fashion gently showers the tea leaves with hot waterfor several seconds during the add period, then pauses while the waterdrains through during a pause until the end of the extraction cycle.This on/off cycle repeats throughout the brew cycle. As previouslynoted, conventional tea brewers steep the tea leaves, submerging them ina bath of hot water throughout the brew cycle. The tea maker 54 of thepresent invention allows most of the water to drain through the tealeaves between pulse cycles. This allows oxygen to contact the tealeaves throughout the brewing process for the best flavor extractionavailable. The cold water dilution ratio is also different than most teabrewers. After brewing 0.75 gallons of concentrated hot tea, or teaextract, the tea maker 54 automatically adds 2.25 gallons of cold water.The result is a 1:3 ratio, the best for tea flavor extraction. Other teabrewers typically use a 1:2 ratio (one third hot/2 thirds cold).

The following is some technical data concerning the preferred embodimentof the the tea maker 54.

Brewing Specifications

Brew Volume: 3.0 gallons (11.3 liters) Paper Filter Size: 13″ × 5″Product #F002 Water Requirements: 20-75 psig, 2 gpm

Factory Settings

Brew time: 12 minutes Water Temperature: Pulse: 10 seconds on, 20seconds 200° F. in Main Tank off 175° F. Green Tea Faucet (optional)

Brew Temperature Protection: Enabled

Brewer Water Brewer Dispenser Dispenser Total Weight Weight Tank WeightWeight Dispenser Weight Brewer & (empty) Capacity (filled) (empty)Capacity (filled) Dispenser Filled 49 lbs. 5.0 gal. 90.5 lbs. 12.0 lbs.3.0 gal. 37.0 lbs. 127.5 lbs. 22.2 kg 19 liters 41.1 kg 5.4 kg. 11.3liters. 16.8 kg. 58.0 kg.

The following are some operating instructions that preferably arefollowed during operation of the tea maker 54. On initial startup, fromdry tank conditions, the green “READY” will flash three minutes afterturning unit on, indicating a fault (low water level). Turn the powerswitch off and back on to reset this. Repeat one additional time ifnecessary.

The brewer will be ready for operation as soon as the ready light comeson to signify that the water tank is up to temperature.

Depending on the cost of electricity in the users area, very littlesavings may be had by turning the brewer off between shifts. The watertank is well insulated and may actually use less electricity to keep thetank hot, than re-heating the tank from a cold condition. Leaving thebrewer in the on position will also avoid delays at the beginning ofshifts for the brewer to reach operating temperature. One dispenser(water only) should be brewed to confirm proper fill levels during startup for the first time. The brewer is preferably preset to deliver atotal of 3.0 gallons to the dispenser.

Tea retains water after brewing, therefore the brew level will bereduced proportionally to the amount of tea used.

Here are some of the steps for the user to follow:

Turn brewer on/off switch to the on position. The power switch willilluminate to indicate that the brewer has power and is operating. Whenthe ready light illuminates, the brewer is fully up to temperature. Theamount of time required to gain full operating temperature will varydepending on the electrical configuration that was ordered, and thetemperature of the incoming water.

Prepare the brew basket. Place a paper filter in the brew basket. Pourthe appropriate amount of tea into the paper filter, and distribute itevenly. The amount of tea used will depend on your personal tastes andthe recommendation of your supplier. Alternatively, place the desirednumber of filter bags with ground tea into the brew basket. Slide thebrew basket into place.

Place the dispenser in position under the brew basket. Make sure thedispenser is empty. Overflowing may result if it is not completely emptywhen the brew cycle begins. Ensure that the dilution spout is insertedinto the back of the dispenser. Ensure that the dispenser is pushed allthe way in, so that the dispenser body is pressing the detection switch.

Optional Setting: Brew Temperature Protection. The brewer 54 ispreferably set so that it cannot brew unless the water is at the propertemperature. If a brew cycle is started without the ready light on, nowater will be dispensed and the brew light will begin flashing. Once thewater heats to the proper temperature, the brew cycle will beginnormally. Preferably this feature can be disabled.

Start the brew cycle. Start a brew cycle by pressing the start switch.The brew light will illuminate during the brew cycle. At the end of thebrew cycle, the brew light will flash for 3-minutes, indicating that teais still dripping from the brew basket and that cold water for dilutionis flowing into the dispenser. The brew basket should not be removeduntil dripping from the bottom of the brew basket has stopped. Carefullyremove the brew basket while inspecting the inside of the basket for hottea that may have been trapped or has not finished draining. Tointerrupt the brew cycle at any time, press the stop switch. This willreset all functions. All settings and adjustments are made on thecontrol board, which is accessible inside the back of the unit.

The tea maker features a system that dispenses factory calibratedamounts of hot and cold water completely before refilling the tanks.This amount of water (0.75 gallons hot, 2.25 gallons cold) is determinedby the size of the tanks and the distance between the hot water levelprobe and the dispense tube. The water tanks will not refill until thebrew cycle is finished and the dispense valves have closed.

The brew cycle time is preferably adjustable from two to twelve minutesand is preset at twelve minutes. The brew time always defaults to thenearest full minute on a selection dial.

The brew time must be set long enough to dispense the full volume ofwater, however, a setting that is longer than necessary will delay thenext brew cycle.

The pulse feature allows the spray of water over the tea leaves to cycleon and off throughout the brew cycle. The setting is made with the addperiod selector. The total extraction cycle is preferably thirty secondsin length.

EXAMPLES

1.) The add period setting, 10 seconds, will give 10 seconds of sprayover followed by a 20 second pause.

2.) A setting of 15 seconds will give 15 seconds of spray over followedby a 15 second pause.

The Pulse and Brew settings must be synchronized so that the dispensevalve is open long enough to dispense all of the brew water, withoutbeing open longer than is necessary. The brew cycle should preferably beset as follows:

Factors in Setting Times

On Time Setting (Pulse) 10 sec. 15 sec. 20 sec. 25 sec. 30 sec.* BrewTime Setting 12 min.  8 min.  6 min.  5 min. 4 min. (minimum) *No pulse

Temperature

The brew water temperature is adjustable from 190° F. to 205° F. and isfactory set at 200° F. The adjustment is made on the center dial of thecontrol board. Adjustment should only be necessary at high altitudes toprevent boiling.

When a brew protection feature is enabled, a brew cycle cannot beginunless the water is at the proper temperature. If a brew cycle isstarted without the ready light on, no water will be dispensed and thebrew light will begin flashing. Once the water heats to the propertemperature, the brew cycle will begin normally.

Thus, in accordance with the present invention a method of brewing teain an automatic tea maker having a supply of hot brew water, acontrolled valve for passing the hot brew water into a brew basket, asupply of mixing water, and a dispensing urn for receipt of tea extractand receipt of mixing water from the mixing water supply is providedcomprising the steps of establishing a brew cycle, said brew cycle beingcomposed of a plural succession of extraction cycles, each extractioncycle alternating between an intermittent add period and an intermittentpause period; opening the controlled valve during each add period to addhot water from the hot brew water sup ply to the tea at the bottom ofthe brew basket, and closing the controlled valve to allow the hot brewwater added during the add period to drain sufficiently through the teaand out of the drain hole as tea extract to expose to atmospheric airthe tea within the brew basket before the commencement of the next addperiod; and allowing drainage of substantially all of the tea extractduring each pause period through a drain hole of sufficient size.Preferably, each of the extraction cycles has a period duration on theorder of thirty seconds. Preferably the add period is on the order ofapproximately seven to ten seconds in duration. The method includes thesteps of preselecting the duration of the add periods for a given brewcycle to be one of a period on the order of an approximately sevenseconds and a period on the order of approximately ten seconds.

In accordance with the method an amount of hot water on the order ofapproximately 6.33-7.6 ounces of hot brew water is added to the brewbasket during an add period on the order of 7-10 seconds during eachintermittent add period, and the drain hole has a minimum diameter onthe order of approximately 0.285 inch.

The duration of the brew cycle is on the order of approximately 5-6minutes, the extraction cycle is approximately thirty seconds and theadd period is approximately seven to ten seconds and the amount of hotbrew water added to the brew basket during each add period isapproximately 6.33-7.6 ounces.

More broadly, the method of the invention of making tea in an automatictea maker having a supply of hot brew water, a controlled valve forpassing the hot brew water into a brew basket, a supply of mixing water,and a dispensing urn for receipt of tea extract and receipt of mixingwater from the mixing water supply, comprising the steps of placing apreselected amount of tea within the brew basket; during a brew cycleautomatically passing a preselected quantity of hot brew water into thebrew basket and into contact with the tea at the bottom of the brewbasket at a preselected brew water passing rate; and draining teaextract from the brew basket at a preselected drain rate relative to thepreselected brew water passing rate to prevent the tea from continuouslysteeping in its entirety in the hot water for the entire brew cycle andto thereby expose the tea to atmospheric air including oxygen during asignificant portion of the brew cycle.

Preferably, the step of automatically passing includes the step ofintermittently changing the relationship between the passing rate andthe drain rate to allow a substantial portion of all of the tea extractto be drained from the brew basket repetitively throughout the brewcycle. The actual rate of passing during intermittent periods, whenthere is no pausing in the actual passing, is greater than the drainrate. The actual rate of passing during the intermittent periods whenthere is no pausing in the actual passing is approximately 3-4 times thedrain rate. The average passing rate during the brew cycle is composedof a plurality of successive periods of different actual rates that varysubstantially above and below the average rate and the drain rate iscontinuous. Importantly, the method includes the step of intermittentlychanging the relationship between the passing rate and the drain rate toallow a substantial contact of the tea with the atmospheric oxygenduring the brew cycle.

While a particular tea maker has been disclosed to illustrate apreferred implementation of the method of the invention, it should beappreciate that there are other ways in which the tea may be oxygenatedduring the brewing process if steeping is avoided. For instance, the teacould be sprayed in an oscillating or rotating manner so that differentparts are wetted at different times to allow oxygen contact withdifferent parts of the tea at different parts of the spray cycle.Reference should be made to the claims for a full understanding of thescope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of brewing tea in an automatic tea makerhaving a supply of hot brew water, a controlled valve for passing thehot brew water into a brew basket, a supply of mixing water, and adispensing urn for receipt of tea extract from a drain hole in the brewbasket and receipt of mixing water from the mixing water supply,comprising the steps of: establishing with a timer of a controller abrew cycle, said brew cycle being composed of a plural succession ofextraction cycles, each extraction cycle alternating between anintermittent add period of preselected duration and an intermittentpause period of preselected duration; placing dry tea ingredient at thebottom of the brew basket; opening the controlled valve during each addperiod to add hot water from the hot brew water supply to the tea at thebottom of the brew basket, and closing the controlled valve during eachof the intermittent pause periods to allow the hot brew later addedduring the add period to drain sufficiently through the tea and out ofthe drain hole as tea extract to expose to atmospheric air the teawithin the brew basket before the commencement of the next add period;and draining from the brew basket through a drain hole of sufficientsize substantially all of the tea extract during each pause period. 2.The tea making method of claim 1 in which each of the extraction cycleshas a period duration on the order of thirty seconds.
 3. The tea makingmethod of claim 2 in which each of the add periods is on the order ofapproximately seven to ten seconds in duration.
 4. The tea making methodof claim 1 in which each of the add periods is on the order ofapproximately seven to ten seconds in duration.
 5. The tea making methodof claim 4 including the steps of preselecting the duration of the addperiods for a given brew cycle to be one of a period on the order of anapproximately seven seconds and a period on the order of approximatelyten seconds.
 6. The tea making method of claim 1 in which an amount ofhot water on the order of approximately 6.33-7.6 ounces of hot brewwater is added to the brew basket during an add period on the order of7-10 seconds during each intermittent add period, and the drain hole hasa minimum diameter on the order of approximately 0.285 inch.
 7. The teamaking method of claim 1 in which the duration of the brew cycle is onthe order of approximately 5-6 minutes.
 8. The tea making method ofclaim 1 in which the duration of the brew cycle is approximately 5-6minutes, the extraction cycle is approximately thirty seconds and theadd period is approximately seven to ten seconds and the amount of hotbrew water added to the brew basket during each add period isapproximately 6.33-7.6 ounces.
 9. The tea making method of claim 1 inwhich the drain hole has a diameter equal to approximately 0.285 inch.10. A method of making tea in an automatic tea maker having a supply ofhot brew water, a controlled valve for passing the hot brew water into abrew basket, a supply of mixing water, and a dispensing urn for receiptof tea extract and receipt of mixing water from the mixing water supply,comprising the steps of: placing a preselected amount of tea within thebrew basket; during a brew cycle automatically passing a preselectedquantity of hot brew water into the brew basket and into contact withthe tea at the bottom of the brew basket at a preselected brew waterpassing rate; and draining tea extract from the brew basket at apreselected drain rate relative to the preselected brew water passingrate to prevent the tea from continuously steeping in its entirety inthe hot water for the entire brew cycle and to thereby expose the tea toatmospheric air including oxygen during a significant portion of thebrew cycle.
 11. The tea making method of claim 10 in which the step ofautomatically passing includes the step of intermittently changing therelationship between the passing rate and the drain rate to allow asubstantial portion of all of the tea extra to be drained from the brewbasket repetitively throughout the brew cycle.
 12. The tea making methodof claim 10 in which the actual rate of passing during intermittentperiods, when there is no pausing in the actual passing, is greater thanthe drain rate.
 13. The tea making method of claim 12 in which theactual rate of passing during the intermittent periods when there is nopausing in the actual passing is approximately 3-4 times the drain rate.14. The tea making method of claim 10 in which the average passing rateduring the brew cycle is composed of a plurality of successive periodsof different actual rates that vary substantially above and below theaverage rate and the drain rate is continuous.
 15. The tea making methodof claim 10 in including the step of intermittently changing therelationship between the passing rate and the drain rate to allow asubstantial contact of the tea with the atmospheric oxygen during thebrew cycle.